Dizzy Dee
Desire Sibanda (born December 17, 1985) is a Zimbabwean reggae singer and songwriter, better known by his stage name Dizzy Dee. He moved to Australia in 2007 and currently resides in Melbourne where he performs and works as a disk jockey on a regular basis. Dizzy Dee is the most influential and prominent singer to achieve mainstream and international success from Triangle, Zimbabwe. Born in Collin Saunders Hospital in Triangle, Zimbabwe, Dizzy Dee moved to Australia at age twenty one, where he did his graphic design studies. After a brief stint as a DJ while finishing his studies, he released his first EP U Don't Care in 2008. As a producer he has worked with artists such as Quashani Bahd on her single That's Why I love You1 and executively produced dancehall artist Slicker 1’s debut album called Culture Shocked. 2 For Valentine's Day 2017 he released the single All That I Need 3 featuring PASIKA, which was Dizzy Dee's most successful track to date. Early Life Dizzy Dee was born Desire Sibanda in Triangle, Zimbabwe, the last child of four siblings. He was named 'Desire' by his late uncle, Noel Sibanda. (1948 – 1985). His mother is Lillian Sibanda (née Muboko; born 1951). His father Danny Mitti Sibanda (born 1947) was an expeditor at Triangle Limited (Zimbabwe) and retired in 2014. His mother owns businesses in the small town of Triangle located in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe, 125 km south-east from Masvingo, between Ngundu Growth Point and Chiredzi. He attended Murray McDougall Primary School and South Eastern College. When he was very young, Sibanda began singing at the local Seventh Day Adventist Church where his father is an elder. Later joining Shutter Crew as an MC in 1999 performing at local shows as well as touring with Saxon Sound. In 2004 Dizzy Dee featured on compilation albums recorded in Chiredzi at the then popular Maodzanyemba Records. Later that same year he worked with Tony Fresh and Rebel Child, from Chitungwiza and Chiredzi, respectively, on a major project which included singles Rastaman and Usandisiye. Musical career 2004: Maodzanyemba Records Dizzy Dee joined Chiredzi based Maodzanyemba Records in 2004. 2007–2014: ABRA Records, U Don't Care, Soundalize It, Never See We Fading and Overcome Since arriving in Australia he has collaborated with a number of international artists, and has opened for Sean Paul and Richie Spice.4 In 2008 he joined ABRA Records led by fellowZimbabwean producers Tawanda Sibotshiwe also known in the music circles as Jusa Dementor and ABRA Simzz. ABRA stands for African Bred Recording Artists although they have produced songs for Jamaican artists including Red Rat, Ward 21, Beenie Man, Charly Black and Major Lazer they specialise in upcoming African talent as well. Sibanda recorded his first EP U Don't Care in 2008 and released it in 2009 under ABRA Records. The EP had 5 tracks including an instrumental mix and acapella of the title track U Don't Care as well as Fuss & Fight and Achadzoka which were targeted at the zimdancehall community in Zimbabwe and the diaspora at large. U Don't Care was made avaibalbe on CD and digital download. In 2014 he started experimenting with a different sound, roots reggae. After working with Chilean based producer Kutral Dub on the single Give Me Love he got interested in a Romanian label called Soundalize It Records which later became his new home. Ever since joining forces with Romanian reggae producer LionRiddims to record Never See We Fading, Time Shall Tell and Overcome Dizzy Dee has established himself within the genre. Although he had started his recording career in 2004, Sibanda's big break came in 2014 when he collaborated with Jamaican reggae star Torch, co-writing the song Thought for the mind.5 Torch also featured on Sibanda's 2014 single Never See We Fading.6 He also recorded Overcome featuring Beniton. 2015–2016: Time Shall Tell and VP Records After signing a distribution deal with VPAL Music (of VP Records) in 2016,78 he released an EP, Time Shall Tell, later that year.910 Dizzy Dee joins StoneBwoy and Patoranking as one of the few African born reggae artists signed to the label. The 6-tracks set gathered musicians and producers from Jamaica, Romania, Canada, USA, Germany, Australia and Vanuatu to create a contemporary Reggae/Dancehall infused body of work that aims to crossover and introduce him to new markets also showcasing his progression since the release of his critically acclaimed single Never See We Fading, other noteworthy collaborations on the EP are Overcome featuring Beniton, Stay Focused with German songstress Saralène and Wake Up & Live featuring Australian Reggae artist Jah Tung and Tujah from Vanuatu. The EP debuted at number 2 on the Australian iTunes charts for the roots reggae genre,11 and received airtime on local and international radio stations.412 2017–present: My Journey In February 2017 he performed at the 36th Annual Bob Marley Outernational concert as a headline artist alongside Etana and Black Slate. In March he toured with Beenie Man as one of the official supporting artists on the Grammy award winning artist's maiden tour of Australia.131415 He is set to release a new album, My Journey, in 2017, featuring collaborations with artists from Jamaica and Zimbabwe.16 Artistry Ken Boothe (left, in white) and Buju Banton (right) are some of the artists that influenced Dizzy Dee and his music Influences One of his earliest musical memories is listening to his parents vinyl collection, which included The Soul Brothers, Micheal Jackson, Ray Phiri. Sibanda collected the infamous Road Warrior cassettes which had carefully selected reggae and dancehall songs mixed by popular disc jockeys. Sibanda also explored the music of older reggae stars, including Capleton, Beres Hammond, Buju Banton, Sizzla, Gregory Isaacs and Ken Boothe and states reggae as his favourite music. During his teen years he became an MC for Shutter Crew and Saxon Sound, often hanging out with Little Hero and Letsha T who were amongst the top selectors in Triangle. It wasnt until he was older that he started writing his own music and contesting in Variety Shows. Sibanda has also been influenced by many artists outside the reggae genre. As a teen he enjoyed R&B acts including Jagged Edge, Donnell Jones, Chaka Khan, Brandy, Joe Thomas and R. Kelly. He has also spoken fondly of singer and songwriter Brandy Norwood for her remarkable vocal range. My dad is my biggest model because he has always been strict and I think that has helped me a lot. When I work on projects I take the same approach. Musical style Sibanda's music is generally reggae, but also incorporates Dancehall, R&B, Hip Hop and Afrobeat elements. Time Shall Tell fused reggae and dancehall together, hip hop elements are heard on tracks such as Overcome. The title track Time Shall Tell is modern reggae while Stay Focused has a heavy roots reggae baseline and keys to it. In 2017 he showed his versatility with All That I Need which is a R&B song which he sings with ease. His voice has often been described as soft, raspy, and husky by music critics and Sibanda himself. His lyrics touch on various topics such as politics, relationships, reality, hardships and struggle. Awards and nominations Australia Reggae Radio Music Awards Philanthropy Sibanda has been involved in humanitarian support in areas including third world schools, the victims of the Haiti Earthquake, clean water projects in Africa through Oxfam Australia, health research and quality of life. Musically, he has helped fundraise on many occasions. A 7.3 magnitude earthquake ravaged Haiti on January 12, 2010 claiming up to 316,000 lives and displacing more than 1.5 million people. In February he performed at a fundraiser at the Evelyn Hotel in Melbourne to raise funds for the Haitian earthquake victims. 19 In May 2015 Colonel Mustard’s held a charity event at Northcote’s Bar 303 to raise funds for Orangutan Foundation International which main purpose is to buy and maintain forestland for primates to live on, rescue orangutans from captivity, maintain Camp Leakey, a primate research faculty and encourage awareness and alternatives for the palm oil industry which has been responsible for a large portion of primate endangerment in South East Asia. Some of Melbourne's too DJ's performed there including a vocal set from Dizzy Dee. 20 March 2016 Sibanda performance at a charity event organised by Mishmash Charity Events to raise funds to support the work of the Soi Dog Foundation, whose focus is to save the homeless dogs and cats in Thailand, as well as many other countries across the world. In 2017 he coheadlined The 36th Annual Bob Marley Outernational held in Western Australia with Etana & Black Slate with proceeds donated to Oxfam. 21 Personal life Sibanda moved to Australia in 2007 on a student visa.22 In 2010 he was sentenced to 6 years in prison, for rape by the Victorian County court. He was required to serve a minimum of three and a half years before being eligible for parole.2324 He was released in 2013. Discography Extended plays * U Don't Care EP (2009), Abra Records 25 * Time Shall Tell EP (2016), Soundalize It Records / VPAL Music 26 Albums Studio albums * My Journey (2017), Soundalize It Records / VPAL Music Riddim compilation albums * Tranquility Riddim - Various Artists (2014), ZJ Heno 27 * Compatible Riddim - Various Artists (2015), ZJ Heno / 21st Hapilos Digital 28 * Summer Love Riddim - Various Artists (2015), Abra Records * Focus Riddim - Various Artists (2016), Black Identity Records 29 As featured artist * Dreamer Believer - Malesh P (2015), Malesh P 30 * Self Reclaimed - Torch (2015), Frankie Music / VPAL Music 31 32 * Culture Shocked - Slicker 1 (2016), TMB MUSIC GROUP 33 Singles As lead artist * Give Me Love (2014), Kutral Dub 34 * Never See We Fading ft Torch (2014), Soundalize It Records 35 * Perfect Peace ft Torch (2015), ZJ Heno * Time Shall Tell (2015), Soundalize It Records 36 * Overcome ft Beniton (2015), Soundalize It Records 37 * All That I Need ft PASIKA (2017), Abra Records 38 As featured artist * Don Goliath - Free Ganja ft Dizzy Dee (2014), Rootsstep Division Recordings * Josmas - Rambai Muneni ft Dizzy Dee (2014), Abra Records Guest appearances * Jusa Dementor - Ndaku Bikira (2016), Abra Records 39 Tours and concerts See also * Dizzy Dee discography * VPAL * VP Records Category:Dizzy Dee Category:Living people Category:Zimbabwean singers Category:Australian songwriters Category:1985 births Category:VP Records Category:Zimbabwean songwriters Category:Australian reggae musicians Category:Australian people of Zimbabwean descent Category:Zimbabwean emigrants to Australia